This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Do short food supply chains go hand in hand with environment-friendly practices?’ presented at the ‘International Association of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) Conference’, Milan, Italy, 9–14 August 2015.This article deals with the presumed relationship between environment-friendly practices, such as organic farming, and the adoption of short food supply chains at farm level. These two patterns of production and distribution appear to be linked because they meet the consumers' expectations in terms of quality and proximity. Calling on the literature, we formulate hypotheses regarding the combined adoption of organic farming and short food supply chains. An econometric model with simultaneous equations measures the close link between the environmental quality of production and vertical integration. The data are drawn from the 2010 census of French farms which provides a full overview of practices implemented by producers. Particular attention is paid to wine-growing and arboriculture which correspond to farms most concerned by organic farming. The results show that when a farmer practises organic farming, the farm becomes integrated and conversely when a farm is integrated, the farmer is likely to adopt organic farming
This research aims to identify the specific characteristics of small farms in developed countries and the factors that influence their survival and growth. Using the case of France, we employ statistical and econometric analysis of data from the Farm Structure Survey ("N" = 70,000) for the period 2000-2007. The principal findings suggest that small farms are no more likely than other farms to employ "alternative" strategies to the predominant model of increasing farm size, nor are they more likely to diversify on-farm activities or operate under quality-labeled production systems, with the notable exception of organic agriculture. However, where small farms do adopt or practice these activities, they are seen to have a favorable effect in ensuring their survival and growth. In contrast, we are unable to conclude that pluriactivity of farm households has a positive impact on the survival of small enterprises. The effect of geographical location on small farms is largely expressed in their concentration in mountainous or disadvantaged regions. Overall, the trajectory of small farms is marked by farm exit, principally as the result of farmers retiring at the end of their careers. The small farm sector is also revitalized by both larger farms declining and thus being reclassified as small farms, as well as the progressive entry into agriculture of small farm holders whose income was previously derived largely off-farm. Copyright (c) 2009 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
Noradrenergic inputs modulate hippocampal function via distinct receptors. In hippocampal neuronal cultures, mRNA expression of adrenoceptor subtypes is maintained from 1 day in vitro (DIV) to 22 DIV. Noradrenaline dose-dependently stimulates phosphoinositide (PI) breakdown in both immature and mature cultures through the activation of alpha1 receptors. At 22 DIV, basal PI breakdown depends on excitatory synaptic activity since it is decreased by tetrodotoxin or glutamate receptor antagonists. At 22 DIV, a similar decrease of basal PI breakdown is also observed with alpha1, alpha2 or beta adrenoceptor antagonists. These effects are not additive with that produced by tetrodotoxin. Adrenergic antagonists also strongly reduce spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents (sEPSC) as evidenced by whole cell recording. Therefore, in hippocampal cultures, excitatory transmission is modulated by a tonic activation of adrenoceptors probably produced by an endogenous ligand. Indeed, (i) the depletion of catecholamine pools by reserpine also decreases both basal PI metabolism and sEPSC; (ii) hippocampal neurons possess both tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase mRNAs, encoding enzymes required for catecholamine synthesis; and (iii) some hippocampal neurons show TH-immunoreactivity. TH-positive cells are also detected in E18 hippocampal sections. Thus, cultured hippocampal neurons synthesize and release an adrenergic-like ligand, which tonically potentiates excitatory synaptic transmission in mature cultures.
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